1. Technical Field
Aspects of the present invention relate to a component for use in a gas turbine engine, and more particularly relate to an airfoil for use in a gas turbine engine that includes a first section, a second section, and a functionally graded section extending between the first section and the second section.
2. Background Information
It is known to provide an airfoil for use in a component of a gas turbine engine (e.g., a rotor blade, a guide vane). The airfoil is used to interact with a fluid flow passing within the gas turbine engine to alter one or more characteristics (e.g., direction, pressure, velocity, etc.) of the fluid flow. The airfoil is typically made at least substantially of one or more metal materials. The metal materials typically have a melting point below an internal operating temperature of the gas turbine engine. As such, cooling fluid flows are extracted from the compressor section of the gas turbine engine and are used to cool the airfoil. The airfoil typically includes one or more cavities, channels, and/or apertures through which the cooling fluid flow passes. The configurations of such cavities, channels, and/or apertures have increased in complexity as design engineers have pushed to operate gas turbine engines at ever higher internal operating temperatures.
The airfoil, being made at least substantially of one or more metal materials, typically needs to be manufactured using one or more known casting techniques. The time and cost required to manufacture the airfoil using casting techniques can be high, and can increase as the complexity of the airfoil design increases. Thus, although it may be possible to design an ideal airfoil for a particular application, it might require a complex configuration of one or more cavities, channels, and/or apertures that is prohibitively time consuming and expensive to manufacture.
Recent achievements in material engineering have produced composite materials that are able to withstand significantly higher temperatures than the metal materials that are typically used to make the airfoil. However, the strength and durability of such composite materials is relatively weak as compared to such metal materials, and thus the capabilities of such composite materials has been limited in implementation.
Aspects of the present invention are directed to these and other problems.